Catch Me If I Fall
by Cinnamin-chan
Summary: If he had enough time to muster his sense of grim humor, he would have imagined a small target painted on the ground, with the words Peter Lands Here written in the center.


Hello again! Robin/Cinnamin here with another Heroes ficlet. This one's a tribute to Nathan and Peter, the cutest (and hottest) brothers ever. It's based on a scene from Genesis; it's more of an indepth look of sorts into their minds during the event. Please read and review!

Oh yeah, and the disclaimer I always forget: I don't own any of it, especially not Peter Petrelli, but if I did, well... I probably wouldn't write anymore. I'd be too busy squealing over Peter!

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**Catch Me If I Fall**

After he empties his mind of any and all cognitive thought, Peter jumps from the edge of the building. Truly a leap of faith, he admits. Surely his dreams weren't lies. He can really fly, can't he?

A shout from the street below is the only sound that filters through his almost hypnotic state, making the negative thoughts return and breaking the spell; he realizes that maybe he was wrong. But it's not like he can turn back time, because that would be crazy. Probably more crazy than believing he could fly, he thinks. So now he's stuck in freefall, all because of a weird dream he had. Peter never had been that lucky, and he curses himself for not even considering that.

His field of vision is narrowing, to the point where all he can see is the precise spot where he'll be landing in a matter of seconds. If he had enough time to muster his sense of grim humor, he would have imagined a small target painted on the ground, with the words "Peter Lands Here" written in the center. He doesn't even want to imagine the kind of mess he'll become once he lands. He squeezes his eyes shut, trying to erase that image from his mind.

Suddenly, he hears another sound; it's a soft _whoosh_, kind of like the one his body is making, but softer, more controlled than his. He takes a chance and opens his eyes, and his heart almost stops beating when he sees Nathan flying towards him. It takes a second for the thought to settle in his mind; his brother is actually_ flying_. The dream was half-true. He shouts his brother's name, but the sound is quickly lost to the wind. Before he even knows what's happening, Nathan grabs his arm and pulls him close.

"You saved me," Peter finally manages, gasping. His heart is beating a mile a minute a now, and he can barely sort through the jumble of thoughts that have invaded his mind. "But... how did you-"

"I don't know, but it's my job," Nathan replies quickly, more concerned with keeping the two of them in the air. "I couldn't let you die."

Peter is suddenly filled with warm affection for his sibling, and a small smile appears on his face. Nathan is right, because that's really what brothers are supposed to do; they come to your rescue, they save you when you need to be saved, they catch you when you fall. He remembers the other times when his brother was there for him, even though they seem so long ago, whether it was the two playing together in the back yard or Nathan taking the blame for something Peter did. He realizes now just how far apart they've grown, how much life has distanced them. The campaign, as well as other things, had all but completely seperated the two brothers. Peter is happy to feel the connection again, even under such odd circumstances.

"You're too heavy," his brother grunts. "I can't hold on much longer!" His grip is starting to weaken, and Peter is frozen with fear. His eyes are squeezed shut again, and for a moment, it's as if time has stopped; he feels something inside himself change, like a door suddenly being opened. Peter feels a new sort of strength within, and discovers, in shock, that he's flying, too. Oddly enough, the power doesn't affect him like he imagined it would; he doesn't feel like a super hero from a comic book. He just feels like a guy that got lucky and managed to actually fly. Either that, or he was delusional. He really hopes it's the first one.

The last thing that registers in his mind before he blacks out is the smile on Nathan's face, one that clearly says, "I don't know how, but you did it!"


End file.
